Static
by Sunshine Asylum
Summary: The Social Network Jewnicorn Sometimes they're Jesse and Andrew, sometimes they're Mark and Eduardo, but they always know the ending must stay the same.


_Disclaimer: I do not own The Social Network or these lovely jewnicorns.  
Warning: slash_

* * *

_**Static**_

Jesse's trailer has been a mess for the past few days. In fact, his overall mood has taken the turn for the worse. He reckons it has something to do with the scenes they're currently doing. Mark and Eduardo are... having a fall out.

He throws a few shirts around and out of the way trying to find a jacket, he swears it was somewhere at the foot of his bed when he last saw it. A minute later he doesn't find it, but he does find a picture instead. Andrew has his arm around him, as always, and is laughingly trying to explain something to an unseen person. But it's his own face that captures Jesse's attention because he's looking at Andrew in a way that makes him want to rip the picture into pieces. But he doesn't, he just holds it for a moment, hands trembling, and then slowly puts it back. He decides he doesn't need a jacket after all.

Andrew thinks it's all a bit ridiculous really. Mark and Eduardo need some time alone, away from Sean, to just talk. Jesse and he need that too. He sees Jesse crouching, leaning his back against a wall, eyes roaming around the studio. It's lunch break.

"Mark!" he calls out and swears Jesse's mouth twitch upward for just a moment before he frowns. He walks up to him and is about to speak when Jesse mutters a silent "Sorry."

"What?"

The "nothing" comes even more silently.

"What's going on?"

"No- nothing. It's- I'm cool, just- totally… fine"

Andrew - or is he Eduardo at this point - stands next to him, one leg bent, foot on the wall. He's learned not to analyze these moments. He isn't even given a chance to when Jesse adds "I swear I haven't eaten in ages."

"What are you talking about? You ate a ton of stuff for breakfast this morning." And he smiles and Andrew knows that whatever was bothering Jesse has just been pushed to the far corner of his mind for the time being. And, even though he really wants to help Jesse, for now it's a blessing because he just doesn't know how to deal with whatever it is.

"Oh come on." Jesse says and Andrew pushes off the wall and goes after him.

They always eat lunch in the same room, on a small table in the corner. Staying in character is crucial. And then Jesse whispers "So it's almost over. You'll be going to LA soon."

"What are you talking about?" Andrew frowns, the sudden turn of events was unexpected, to say the least.

"You'll be going to LA soon," he repeats "you're going to be" and then he sneers "a hero."

It's stupid, really, so Andrew laughs. "You sound like we'll never see each other again, like I won't be a part of your life." And then he's quiet and looks at the door as if he's expecting Sean to burst in and yell "It won't be _like_ you're not a part of his life – you're not a part of his life." But he doesn't, because Justin's not here and it's all still ridiculous.

Jesse leaves his paper plate, still half-full, and walks out without a word. There's not much he can say right now anyway.

That night, Andrew can't sleep, neither can Eduardo. They get up from their bed and walk out into the cold night, these days they go everywhere together. Eduardo is screaming into his mind that Mark is a traitor but Andrew doesn't care either way, he's going to see Jesse because the light in his trailer is still on at 3 A.M.

The door are ajar so he just pushes them further open and goes in only to find Jesse sitting on the floor. He has a half-empty bottle of vodka in his hand and a very deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. It'd be comical if it wasn't so- it's comical.

Jesse can hardly believe what he's seeing. He'd later swear it was all Mark's fault but never mind. As soon as his mind processes everything he becomes defensive, which just makes him look like a stubborn child. Andrew has yet to decide if that's the face he loves, or is annoyed by, the most.

"What are you doing here?" he pouts, which only serves to make him more childlike "You should be asleep."

Do we yell at him for drinking or join and see why he's drinking in the first place? The battle is short so Andrew, not Eduardo, sits next to his friend and takes the bottle from his hands. "I'm English." And that makes perfect sense so Jesse just mumbles something about Andrew being born in the US before he drops the subject.

"Where did you find this?"

"I think David and Aaron were testing to see if they'd... stick to screwdrivers or go with beer."

"What?"

"You know... when I was writing my blog, the one that started everything."

Andrew suddenly realizes there's nothing for him here, it's Eduardo's territory now. He might as well play along. But then it's not that easy when all the scripts lay forgotten and you're left on your own.

"Hey Wardo? I'm really sorry." The look in Jess- Mark's eyes proves he really is.

"About what?" Eduardo supposes Mark thinks he should know what this is all about, but he doesn't, so he has to ask... and Mark doesn't look happy about having to answer.

Like every word is choking him he mumbles "For... you know" he looks away "Sean and the shares and..." he closes his eyes. "Sorry for stuff... for the... for everything." That's it, that's all Eduardo's going to get and he knows it.

It's always like this with the two of them; Mark says something vague and then just tells you to drop it, like it doesn't matter. But it does, it always does.

"I wish you wouldn't do that. Tell me vague stuff and expect me to understand because I… just should."

Mark stays silent, so he has to say it. "I'm not a mind reader!" then adds "Sometimes I really, really wish I was, though" quietly. He's not sure if Mark understands what he's saying, he looks pretty drunk, but that's another thing about them. Mark's almost never at 100% when they're having a serious talk. Eduardo just takes a long swig out of the bottle and it feels like the drink hits directly into his brain instead of his stomach.

"If you could, would you just do it all over again?" it's masochism that has Eduardo asking this, he already knows the answer. He closes his eyes and thinks if he doesn't see it, it won't hurt as much.

"Yes." The world tilts a bit and then swings back in place as he feels a hand on his elbow. "But, Wardo?" The hand shakes him until he's looking at Mark's wide eyes. "I'd have made sure we had more time. If I knew, I'd have made it worthwhile."

"It still ends the same. The story might change but we still end up in the same place."

"The story is all that matters." And Mark's looking at him with eyes full of emotion that Eduardo doesn't want to trust but, even after all this, it's his default setting.

He leans his head on the wall and looks at the ceiling with hooded eyes. "So how does the story go, Mark?"

Mark just leans his forehead on Eduardo's shoulder while his own slump in defeat. "I don't know. You should help me write it. You could have whatever you want."

"But the ending stays the same." Eduardo finishes.

He's not sure what part of him pushes forward and kisses the boy next to him. Maybe it's Andrew, maybe it's Eduardo, maybe it's the vodka in his blood. Maybe it's just the damn, breaking under pressure, and this is the result.

Mark kisses him back like it's just an automatic response but then there's a determined tug on Eduardo's lower lip. By the time it registers, it's already gone but it's enough that both Andrew and Eduardo wonder if it's Jesse or Mark. He half carries, half drags, Mark to the bed. They slide in together, tangle in the sheets.

There are arms around Eduardo's neck, dragging him down. Mark's lips become so demanding and desperate that he has to break off and hide his face in the crook of Mark's neck, just for a moment, just to breathe and think. The arms around his neck unhook and slide down his arms, fingers trembling. Eduardo closes his eyes again. Life is easier in the dark.

"Andrew?" it's small and broken and the hands still resting on his elbows are warm.

He lifts his head to look Jesse in the eyes. He sees Mark, just on the edges, ready to snap back into place. He kisses just so he doesn't have to look anymore, so he doesn't have to think and wonder and question. He hooks his fingers under Jesse's shirt and drags it upward and over Jesse's head. He can pinpoint the exact moment when Jesse stops thinking, just as the shirt falls to the floor and Andrew's hand is gliding over damp skin to settle over Jesse's heart.

Their eye close and then it's just feeling. There are hands stripping off clothes, fingers caressing skin, their lips become less coordinated and their hips push harder. There is nothing between them, just skin on skin, when Eduardo screws his eyes shut under the pressure and bites on Jesse's neck. Jesse's mumbling things and flickering between himself and Mark, like bad TV reception. Andrew can almost hear the static in his brain. The air in the room is heavy and pressing on him from all sides. There's hardly room for him to breathe and they're trying to pushing four people into this tangle of limbs and emotions.

In the morning they dress themselves in silence and Andrew mutters a silent "See you on set." before he steps out of the trailer. The ending stays the same.


End file.
